


the best gift that can be given

by Splat_Dragon



Series: Nod: little child of the west wind [1]
Category: Red Dead Redemption (Video Games)
Genre: Character Development, Family Feels, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gang Bonding, Horse taming, Meet Nod the wild child, Meet Tops the horse, No Romance, Oops I forgot to put a summary, Team Bonding, wild child - Freeform
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-26
Updated: 2020-10-26
Packaged: 2021-03-09 01:54:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,282
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27216769
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Splat_Dragon/pseuds/Splat_Dragon
Summary: Finally, the stallion let him turn him towards her, reluctantly obeying his lead to plod her way. Her face lit up and, when Arthur dismounted, he found himself having to brace against a hug. He kept a tight grip on the stallion’s temporary lead as he patted her stiffly on the back, “Yer welcome, darlin’,” before stepping back, “Now, you’ll wanna get up on his back, alright?” and knelt to boost her up, waiting until she had a good grip on the rope reins before he let go, “and lead him around until he settles down and listens to you.”
Series: Nod: little child of the west wind [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1987012
Comments: 3
Kudos: 6





	the best gift that can be given

It hadn't taken them long to realize that Nod didn't know much in the way of personal space.

If she wanted your attention, she'd grab your sleeve or tug on your shirt, put her hand on your arm if she could reach. Had scared Arthur once when, after seeing him apply pomade, she'd tugged him to her level and run her fingers through his hair.

So when she dropped her hands on his shoulders and shook him, it shouldn't have startled him as bad as it did. But it did, so he choked on his stew, half standing from his seat at the campfire.

"What?" he sputtered, wiping his mouth on his sleeve, the girl thoroughly unbothered.

"Horse." she said bluntly.

"...come again?" though he didn't really expect much more out of her. No one knew the circumstances that had led to her meeting Dutch, what her life had been like before she'd ridden with him back into camp. But clearly she didn't know much English… or any sort of people skills at all.

"Horse!" she yelped more emphatically, grabbing him by the sleeve and tugging. Considering his lunch was spilled on the grass, and he was recently back from a long hunting trip, he didn't have much of a reason to say no.

They'd tried other languages. Sean had babbled at her in Irish, and Javier had tried talking to her in Spanish. But she'd stared at them before giving them her _'I have no idea what's going on'_ grin and tackling Sean into a hug, Javier offered a slice of her apple.

"I'm comin', I'm comin'," he grumbled as she dragged him to the hitching posts, insistently pressing a lasso (he hoped it was his or hers, she had a nasty sense of 'communal property') into his hands.

  
  


As it was, Arthur wasn't sure what to make of her. She grated on his nerves sometimes, definitely. Was too touchy but had her own personal bubble the size of Texas, had a nasty habit of grabbing whatever was nearest at hand instead of digging for her own. Guarded her things jealously, had kicked Bill between the legs when she'd thought he was reaching for her can of beans. And she was a _Trelawney,_ came and went as she pleased. But she also was one of the first on her horse if you asked for someone to ride with you, was horribly friendly to gang members as only a dog can be. Shared without asking, was always pressing things in his hands - shiny things, useless crap she thought he'd like. Was always handing out food she'd managed to find, shoving tins of peaches into his hand.

  
  


The O'Driscoll gave him an apologetic grin as he passed him Galon's reins, the gelding already saddled up. Nod was already swinging into Flea's saddle, looking at him so excitedly he couldn't find it in him to say no, so he sighed and mounted up as well.

Hosea had sat him down once, when he'd gotten frustrated with her. Asked him to cut her some slack, said that he wasn't entirely sure but he thought she hadn't been around people much in her life, that they were the first people she'd spent much, if any, time around, "so help her out son, please?"

  
  


"So, where're we goin'?" he asked, nudging his monster of a horse to plod after the much smaller Morgan and stooping down low to show her his map.

Even still, she had to stretch up to look at his map, wrinkling her nose as she focused, finally planting her finger somewhere just a bit closer to camp than where he'd marked the oil derrick. It wasn't more than a ten minute ride if they kept her little mare at a walk and, seeing as she'd kicked her into a gallop the minute they'd broken the treeline, it wouldn't be even a quarter that.

  
  


She grinned at him, toothy and gleeful, when she reined Flea in not far from the oil derrick, Arthur nearly overshooting on his Shire. The man grumbled, patting the fussing gelding, following her lead and dismounting.

He looked around, trying to figure out why she'd dragged him here, turning to find her kneeling, looking at something on the ground. Yelped a sudden "Arthur!" before taking off, eyes locked on the ground.

"Dammit, wait!" he hurried to tail her, barely able to make out the horse prints she was following, fading in the dust.

"Arthur, dammit, wait!" she echoed back at him, leading him on a merry little jaunt clear to the other side of Twin Stack Pass, following a trail that he quickly lost.

Then, of course, he nearly ran into her back, as she came to an abrupt stop. He sighed at the bright grin she threw over her shoulder, tugging on his sleeve, and stepped around her to see a herd of horses grazing.

A handful of Paints in various colors, one or two solid colored Saddlers, and it was the stallion standing guard that she tugged on his sleeve again and pointed at.

  
  


Oh. _Horse._

"You want me to help y' tame it?" he asked, though it was more of a statement, and she nodded excitedly.

Well,she had good taste at least. It was a handsome thing, largely white with a massive black patch on top like someone had dropped a blanket on him.

"Alrigh'," he looked over the herd, trying to figure out the best way to do this, "you're smaller, so you're gonna want to be on your horse when you do this. But since you're just watchin', stay down here." how much she understood, she didn't know. But she was watching him intently, so he continued to explain what he was doing as he unlooped his lasso.

"Now, y' wanna get his attention," he couldn't help but to flinch, startled, when she turned to the stallion and whistled, high-pitched and sharp, "an' show him you mean no harm."

The handsome Paint stamped his hooves but didn't scatter with his herd as Arthur began to approach, shushing and humming and muttering before yelling "THEN YOU NEED TO GET YOUR LASSO AROUND HIS NECK!" as he did so, slinging up onto the horse's back in the same movement.

The stallion screamed, began to thrash and buck and fight, and he hoped his voice wasn't too broken up as he yelled, trying to hold on, "THEN JUST LET HIM WEAR HIMSELF OUT!" 

By the time the Paint wore himself out, Nod had whooped and laughed and hollered her throat raw.

Finally, the stallion let him turn him towards her, reluctantly obeying his lead to plod her way. Her face lit up and, when Arthur dismounted, he found himself having to brace against a hug. He kept a tight grip on the stallion’s temporary lead as he patted her stiffly on the back, “Yer welcome, darlin’,” before stepping back, “Now, you’ll wanna get up on his back, alright?” and knelt to boost her up, waiting until she had a good grip on the rope reins before he let go, “and lead him around until he settles down and listens to you.”

As she led the stallion around him in circles, she couldn’t have looked more proud if she tried.

His lips quirked up in a grin and, as she lapped him again, he asked, “Got a name for him?”

She tilted her head, looked from him, then stretched forward to look at the horse’s blue eye, then to him again and said with a nod, “Tops.”

Well. It wasn’t the worst name - at least it fit him? Was a damn sight better than 'The Count', at least.

**Author's Note:**

> Tops is a [Splashed White American Paint Horse](https://www.gtabase.com/red-dead-redemption-2/horses/splashed-white-american-paint-horse)


End file.
